A Week in Tokyo - Part 1 - Passport Problems
 

I'm leaving for a week long trip to Japan with my boyfriend (Christian) on April 6. The planning process went very smoothly from the day the idea for this trip was hatched in late December, upon finding a $575 round-trip airfare from STL.

Even before purchasing the tickets, luck was smiling on us. A co-worker of mine who is an Executive Platinum on AA (converted from Platinum of TWA with the merger) was no longer travelling for business with any frequency and offered us four of her VIPOW certificates which would allow us to upgrade to business class on the flight.

I watched availability on flights very closely and as cheap seats started dwindling, called to verify what flights would still had upgrade availability. We ended up with multiple routing options before deciding on STL-ORD-NRT each way.

For hotel, I had about 95,000 Marriott points sitting in my account. Finding that there was a Renaissance in Ginza with award availability for the week, I transferred enough Diners Club points to top off the Marriott account and claim an award certificate for the week.

In January, Christian realized he didn't know where the passport he had obtained last year was. (He is just out of school and working to build a resume in stage management by working at different companies throughout the country -- as a result, he has belongings at various friends' places in different states.) Eventually, he decided to just apply for a replacement -- which he did towards the end of February, well within the six week limit before our trip.

Everything seemed to be going well, right?

March 25 11:30am

Christian makes it back to St. Louis over the weekend and decides to call the 1-900 Passport Information number to find out the status of his passport only to be told it had been mailed out March 5. Uh oh. It had also not been returned to the Passport Agency.

Since he was working down in Sarasota earlier this month, he asked that the passport be mailed to my address in care of my name to avoid delivery problems if it came after his work there was done. Now, while the mail can be slow it shouldn't take 20 days to go from Miami to St. Louis.

They tell him to check with the post office it was sent to.

March 25 11:45am

I call my post office and am told that I have to come in to fill out a tracking request.

March 25 1:30pm

I leave the office for a long lunch to hunt down the missing passport. Talking to the worker at the counter, I'm asked how the passport was mailed. How am I supposed to know? Christian again calls the 900 number and is told it was sent regular mail without tracking.

Ok.. wait a minute. After 9/11, doesn't it surprise you they mail passports out through first class mail without any tracking or delivery confirmation? At the cost of another dollar or two, I would think it makes sense -- then again I don't work in the government.

When told there was no tracking number, the agents at the post office look through all areas they think it could be -- without luck. One woman actually went so far as to call my regular mail carrier who was out sick that day. No one recalls seeing the passport at all.

March 25, 2:00 pm

Christian calls the 900 passport number again and is told someone will contact him later in the day. I've also realized his birth certificate is with the passport lost in the mail -- so even if we want to, we can't head up to Chicago to request an emergency passport. Thoughts of having to cancel the trip run through my head.

March 25, 6:00pm

Christian is called and told to fax a letter to the Passport Agency saying he never received the passport. Once that is received, a decision would be made if another could be issued to him without further documentation.

March 26, Noon.

Christian gets a call -- his passport has been found returned to the Miami Passport Agency. We think it is because they did not include the "care of" line in the address.

He asks if the passport can be express mailed to him. They say no. It supposedly goes out First Class that afternoon.

March 28, 8:10am

I am woken up by a call from my post office -- they received the passport! This time the address did include the "care of" line. It is to be delivered with today's mail. I'll keep my fingers crossed until then...

Greg

Greg,
My partner renewed her passport at the DC passport office. She ended up expediting it, but bought the incorrect envelope for return. The passport agency sent it back regular USPS mail to Seattle. So, they do still send things back using the mail- 5 day turn around too.

I hope the mail gods are kind to you and you enjoy your VIPOWs (assuming they cleared) an d the cherry blossoms -lala is very envious.

lala

Yes, they did clear -- I called up to check availability on the different routings (via ORD, DFW and SJC) before booking the tickets.

I think there was availability on all of the flights. I avoided SJC since it gave us a much shorter flight in International Business Class.

In choosing between DFW and ORD, I chose the ORD outbound since it allowed us to leave about two hours later (8am departure from STL vs 10am) and sleep two more hours. On the return, I picked ORD because of a shorter connection -- although a change to the return NRT-ORD flight made it just as long. Oh well.

Thanks for the good wishes!

Greg

Greg, my sympathies and condolensces. Been there, done that. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I am assuming the passport has been received.

I applied for a passport, didn't have to, was full, Asia stamps like crazy, wanted a new passport. They hassled me over that. If you have ever seen the LA Federal Building and passport office, it is a zoo. They make you apply til right before you go, which is just plain stupid.

They kept it there, vs. sending it back, when I told them, obviously I wanted it sent back. Full panic with checking the mail everyday. Went in to the Fed. bldg.and picked it up the day I was to leave for Asia.

Blood, sweat, and tears doesn't begin to describe it. Ok, not that bad, but, whewwwww.
So, can identify well. Good luck and sayonarra http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

------------------
Michael
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
HH GLD, SCI GLD, MM SIL
LE PRESIDENT ETERNEL DE CAMAIR-CAMEROUN AIRLINES :)

The proper thing to do in this situation is to have additional blank pages added to your existing passport, rather than getting a new one. You didn't address this specifically, but was there a particular reason you didn't want to do this?

Also, assuming that you'd have at least some room for one more entry stamp, the easiest way to have additional pages added is to go to a US embassy or consulate overseas. Most will add additional pages on the spot without hassle - no waiting and no multiple trips.

Also, the next time you renew your passport, if you anticipate needing one, you can request a 48-page passport instead of the regular 24-page one.

>>> greetins Steve. Glad I checked back here. I am aware of the extra pages and may try it sometime, haven't yet. I love my stamps and often will ask the officer, if they speak English or French, to stamp a separate page. The thing gets filled up quickly.

Even with the extra pages, I can see the officers stamping over old stamps... can you say corronary? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif they did that over an old Hong Kong, pre-handover stamp...that is when alarm bells went off... The officers don't care and can become obnoxious when you "tell them their job."

Thanks for the advice. I am sure you know with a trip through Asia, it brings in lot's of stamps. I picked up atleast a dozen stamps just playing around Hong Kong: 2- in and out/airport, 2 to Macau/HK and back, 2 to Macau, 2 to China and back + 2/back to Macau, in Macau, plus a Chinese visa stamp(day visa), so 11. Plus Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, and Taiwan... hence, a few stamps... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ciao

Are you implying that the HKG pre-handover entry/departure stamps are different in some way(s)? I just scanned my PP and checked several dozen pre/post handover stamps and they are all identical (only the inspector numbers and dates vary). Even the granted stay-duration remained the same within a month or so after the handover (one month). It wasn't until late '98 or so that the visa-free stay granted to US citizens increased to three months.

Please clarify. I'm curious. Thanks.

Good news.. the passport arrived this afternoon.. Tokyo here we come!

Greg

>>> Ok, quickly http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, the fiance awaits.

I was shocked to learn that the stamp was relatively the same, but the date is relevant. I didn't know that it wouldn't be different so I had daggers for the US officer at Vancouver who stamped over the HK pre-handover stamp before I had gone back...GRWL... It is still special...

Now, the special stamps are from the European Union-pre Schengen, those were all nice. I can't stand the boring, generic schengen stamps that don't show anything special to that particular country. Fortunately, the UK and Ireland stayed out of that idiocy, and of course Switzerland, smart as always, kept everything the same, hence, my Zurich stamps are special as well. ciao... ( It was sad for me to finally get to Greece and they had just joined Schengen. Since I flew in from Paris, no stamp at all, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif. I bluffed my way to getting a stamp when I had left and they weren't happy about it...)

>>> CONGRATS DUDE!!! Have a wonderful trip
and do some lounge hopping at Narita, fun!

This is true. On my last HKG entry prior to the handover, I was fortunate enough to have inspector number 1997. A fitting souvenier, I think.

UAL,
Another option is that WT didn't know they were the same until he read your post, as it probably differed from other information he had read on the internet (and your information was correct).

>>>UGH... Mr. Seiple is referring to an allegation(and a very serious one, at that!) that I am making up all my world travels, which atleast to me, would be impossible to make up. Well, I couldn't do it, more so with the way that I include a personal approach to it. Maybe others could!? The things that I state in my trip reports and posts could in no way be found in a tourbook. Also, his allegation, at a minimum, is found to be extrememly offensive and not appreciated.

As stated, the stamp was the same but the date was relevant. I have my passport and stamps to prove it... As it had been a few months before the handover, it was special.

Also, if I didn't take part in these travels, why would I waste my time trying to assist my fellow travelers by making up a bunch of BS, which could easily be disproven? sorry for the annoyance to other readers... Michael

Michael,
I strongly suggest you cease sending me harrassing e-mails.

thanks.

I remember seeing on TV (movie or documentary I can't remember) a guy who buys postage stamps of countries he visited and paste them into his passport to have them stamped at custom.

I wonder if anyone tried that.